About Me

Hi! I'm Shanticka. My blog is about any and everything that I want it to be. Me, my family, work, personal style, friends, etc. Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoy getting to know me. Live, in living color.

3.23.2014

Happy Sunday! Spring has finally arrived! Well not so much here, but I've enjoyed seeing the pics and posts of you guys enjoying the warmer temps and sunshine in your neck of the woods. Minnesota is always a little late to the party, but we'll be there soon enough.

Back in December, I participated in a Twitter chat hosted by Alissa of Stylish Curves & Simply Be (click the link for the dress). By using the hashtag #HolidayCurves during the chat, I won the chance to choose a dress from the Simply Be site. I chose this cute little number. Although my eye was drawn to the dress, I was hesitant to order it because there's a lot going on! Normally when I wear a pattern, it's usually stripes, and maybe a little leopard when I want to call myself pattern mixing.

I stared at the dress on the site for a little bit, then said, "Why not?!". I placed the order and anxiously waited for it to arrive. I have to be honest and say, when I took it out of the packaging, I wasn't impressed. I held it up to my body, and thought that it wouldn't look good on me. The dress looked lifeless.

Let me tell you. I couldn't have been more wrong. I put the dress on and BOOM!! Instant sexy! I fell in love with the colors, the material, the length, the fit, and the way that it laid over my curves. It was the perfect example of the saying, "Wear the clothes, don't let the clothes wear you".

I couldn't wait to style it, and take pics! Now I can't wait to wear it for a night on the town with my girls or with the hubby.

I decided to keep accessories to a minimum since I felt like such a busy body in the dress. I could have done a black clutch, but that's no fun. I pulled out my pink one since there's pink in the dress. But the way I see it, the possibilities are endless for color pairings.

These ankle strap Sam Libby heels from Target are the bizness!! I copped them on clearance about a month or so ago, and I'm swooning over them! They aren't too high, and they're just the right amount of sexy to pair with this dress.

3.11.2014

When I was younger, I heard grown folks say that they weren't getting older, they were getting better. And it wasn't just Furious Styles in Boyz in the Hood neither! Older people in my life used that phrase all the time. I never really knew what they meant until now.

When I was a teenager, I thought that time would NEVER move. It took what seemed like an eternity to get from 9th to 12th grade! Not literally folks. Actually, it only took the normal four years, but I wanted to be grown so bad that I could taste it!

1995 Snow Daze Dance. I thought I was killin it in this dress!

1996 in my high-school halls with the jailhouse pose

Once I turned 18, I moved out. At the time, getting "old" (in my eyes old was 30) seemed light years away.

Me with my best friend at our high-school graduation

In my 20's I didn't really think much about my age. I just cruised along. Hanging out with friends, raising my children, being a young wife, etc. Nothing could touch me!

Then there was 30. The big 3-0 hit me kind of hard. I wasn't prepared! Where had the time gone?! I mean shoot, I still felt 20 something!

My 'Golden Birthday'. See what I did there? #solidgold

Time passed. I got older. My children got older. Life started moving a hell of a lot faster then it did before. All of a sudden, I look up, and I'm on the later side of 30, damn near pushing 40!! I decided to start taking better care of myself. To focus more on me. To look in the mirror and be proud of the woman who stared back at me. Thus began my weight loss/health journey. With diabetes, cancer & high-blood pressure running in my family I couldn't afford to ignore my weight anymore.

I knew that I wanted to lose some weight, but I never really saw myself as THAT overweight. Below is the first 'before/during' picture where I took a good look and realized that I didn't know where my weight had taken me. Well, I knew, but I didn't. I knew because as you can tell in the picture on the right, I tried to use that poor little clutch as a shield for my tummy. Sad, but true. I say that I didn't know because I actually thought it worked! lol! When I look at these pics, I see a different me from my hair, down to my knees :)

This 'before/during' pic was from a week or two ago. I posted it on Instagram as motivation for me to get to the gym. I was having a hard day, and I needed to let myself know that I don't plan on going back to the old me.

This pic is from Dec, Jan & Feb. It was my goal dress. I went into Target, saw this dress for super cheap. I tried it on, and it was pretty tight around the mid section. Being that it was a medium, I gave myself until March to fit comfortably into the dress. I DID IT by February! YAY ME!!

I said all of that to say this. I'm not done. Not even close. Being active, and consistently making small changes to live a healthier life is ongoing for me. I slip. Hell, I fall! But I will never stop. And in the process I'm beginning to realize that, like fine wine, I'm getting better with time.

Do you feel like you become a better you as time passes? What are some of the things that keep you motivated to do better?